Longer job searches and rising housing costs are intensifying economic pressure on young Koreans amid the country's structural challenges and sluggish growth, a central bank report said on Monday.
Korea added more than 190,000 jobs in 2025, maintaining on-year employment growth at the 100,000 level for the second consecutive year, data showed Wednesday.
Across Korea, more people are paying others to wait in lines for popular bars, restaurants and bakeries, expanding a trend that was once nearly exclusive to limited edition luxury shopping.
More Korean men are looking to Japan not only for jobs but also for long-term residence, due to tough hiring conditions and longer working hours at home, as well as relationships with Japanese partners.
Three in 10 young people in Korea feel burned out. Not only is it difficult to search for a job — which takes up to a year on average — but job satisfaction remains low as worsening employment conditions take a toll on workers' mental well-being.
Korea's aging population trend is signaling a major demographic shift in which “active” older people are set to become the driving force of the economy from the middle of the 21st century.
Korea’s young job seekers are increasingly losing confidence in the hiring market, with many recent graduates preferring to passively apply for jobs after facing multiple rejections.
Korea is facing a worsening youth employment crisis, with the number of young long-term job seekers continuing to climb amid the longest sustained drop in the youth employment rate since the 2009 global financial crisis.
Korea’s employment rate hit a record high in October, but most of the gains were among older workers, while youth employment declined for the 18th consecutive month and the number of inactive workers in their 30s reached an all-time high.
A job seeker looks for openings at a job fair held in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, on Nov. 12.
Korea JoongAng Daily Sitemap
